Disruption Tube

Admit it. There were times when you clocked hours in the classroom, made notes, pestered teachers and classmates with your doubts and still failed to grasp a concept. The big musty books could have helped you out but they seemed uninviting to you, perhaps, because there was an exam just around the corner and you were hard- pressed by other subjects. If you had already taken the pains to go through them, then it was an even scarier situation for you because, most probably, the prescribed textbooks were your last resort and you just exhausted it. A crisis was unfolding before your eyes and you could only watch helplessly, clarity still eluding you.

This is indeed a nightmarish situation for anybody who has gone through it. It would not have bothered someone so much had they not studied diligently and cut corners. They would still have the option of conveniently concluding in their minds that Had I bothered to study, had I put my mind to it, I would have had a firm grip on the topics. They find this thought comforting because it allows them to hold on to their irrational belief that their mental faculties are not in any way below par. The belief by itself, however, is no remedy to the dire situation. I have seen such circumstances up close when I used to get stuck on things that my peer group found plain sailing, too obvious to put in words. It is in those times that I found myself a saviour in Youtube.

Youtube is more than a source of entertainment. It is more than channels running smear campaigns against rivals (you know the one I speak of). It is a golden-egg-laying goose that can’t be killed when it comes to its role as a platform for dissemination of knowledge and information. You can be sure to find videos on everything under the sun: from asteroid-mining to scatology.

The inability to visualize is most easily cured on Youtube. With the power of computer simulations and animation at the content creator’s disposal, the most counterintuitive topics are explained in an engaging way that lays to rest most, if not all, of the doubts. This certainly gives this mode of learning an edge over the traditional ones where you have to depend on the lecturer’s or the author’s power of expression to get an intuitive feel of what is being discussed. Words alone may or may not conjure up the right notion in your mind but when aided by visual effects, they certainly would.

Content on Youtube comes from innumerable sources. The diversity lends different perspectives to the outlook of the viewer about the same topic, which could either decipher the complex multidimensionality that most topics and issues have for the person or befuddle him/ her. Then there is always the question of the veracity of the content. While there is no sure- shot way out of this problem (short of seeking the opinion of a stalwart in that field) one could almost always rely on statistics that Youtube so graciously provides: the number of subscribers (for a channel) and likes and views (for any video in general). This may sound like adopting herd mentality, but it does pay off most of the times - if a large number of people from different backgrounds find a video’s content useful, the balance of probability says you too would find the content enriching.

Another significant advantage of using Youtube for scholarly pursuits is that reputed institutions often make podcasts of their lectures and make them available there. Gone are the days where you could moan about the incompetence of teachers in your institute and shirk off responsibility towards your academics. Now with content from across the world a click away, you can get introduced to a subject by the experts. You too would swear by the laws of Physics once you see Walter Lewin swinging on a pendulum and putting his life on the line to convince you.

Recreational learning is having its day under the sun since Youtube became a breeding ground for channels that seek to demystify complex- looking, interesting topics like cosmology and applied mathematics that most would shy away

from. Captivating graphics and lucid explanations compel you to binge-watch the entire series, leaving you hungry for more. Once you get started, you’ll realize you are on auto-pilot, reading up things from the videos that piqued your curiosity. By the end of it, you’re left with hundreds of tabs on your window and enough knowledge under your belt to come across as learned.

Youtube has ensured that learning need not be devoid of amusement. If you ever feel the need to take a break, you only need to scroll down. All of a person’s wit condensed into a few lines is what makes up a large part of the comments section. However witty you think you might be, you’ll find plenty of comments that will bowl you over with their sheer brilliance. It is a wonder Youtube doesn’t charge us for viewing the comments section! Under a video explaining the geometry of higher dimensions, a particularly learned man writes: “I have a way of visualizing spheres of dimensions n > 3… It’s just that it isn’t legal in most states…”.

For all its virtues, Youtube is yet to replace conventional teaching modes. While one may feel they have understood something entirely from a single or even a series of Youtube videos, in reality, they have barely scratched the surface. It is common knowledge that most videos on scientific topics leave out the complicated maths (which is integral to understanding the subject completely) in favour of garnering the attention of the masses and increasing views. Thus the content is rarely exhaustive and should be used to complement the traditional learning resources. Used effectively in conjunction with books, you would soon be rewarded with your ‘Aha!’ moment when you finally make sense of the things you had been struggling with previously.